Susan Nussbaum has been an activist for many years, most notably in the disability rights movement. She is also a playwright who's work has been produced at many theaters, including here in Chicago at Second City, Victory Gardens and Live Bait Theaters. Her play Mishuganismo, first produced by Remains Theatre, is included in the anthology Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out and her play No One As Nasty is included in another anthology of disabled playwrights, Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Playwrights with Disabilities. In 2008 Susan was cited by the Utne Reader as one of "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World" for her work with girls with disabilities.

Nussbaum started working with Access Living in 1980 as the organization's first publicist. She also created the Empowered Fe Fes (slang for female), a support, sexuality and disability identity group for girls, which over the years, has served over 300 girls.